


Mind of Evil

by Silverfox20



Series: Mind of Evil Universe [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Injury, Child Death, Gen, Guilt, Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverfox20/pseuds/Silverfox20
Summary: Pets are trying to help their owners find out who is killing and taking animals from the neighborhood before it escalates too far.
Series: Mind of Evil Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084724
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posted story. Please comment and review but don't be too harsh. If you haven't read the character descriptions please go do so before reading this, it'll help you with the characters in the story. Speech is displayed in quotation marks while thoughts are like this 'My God'. They're in apostrophes.

Sitting by a door that leads outside there is an orange tabby patiently waiting for his owner. Barry may be young and new to this house, but he still likes his owner Claire and trusts her. She volunteers at the shelter she adopted him from. He still remembers the day she adopted him.

[Two months ago]

Barry was in a cage in the second row. ‘This is great. They put me between a cat that never stops yowling and another cat that sheds so much you could make a blanket out of the fur.’ He thought. Just then a family with a little girl walked in. Wanting to be adopted, Barry got up and tried to get their attention. “Hi! I’m here! It’s good to see new people! Please adopt me, I’m a good cat. You’ll like me!” Even though they could hear his meowing they didn’t look at him for more than two seconds. “Look mommy, kittens!” The little girl pointed and led her parents to the other side of the room where the kittens were. 

Barry sat back down dejectedly. ‘Another failed attempt. They always go for the kittens. They always liked the younger ones.’ Barry was still young. Sitting at one and a half years old. He just couldn’t compete when there were kittens in the same room. He had been here for three months now, not as long as some of the others, but long enough to get a sinking feeling in his chest whenever he gets ignored by people who could adopt him. The people who cared for him and the other animals were ok, they just really didn’t care that much. They treated taking care of them like a chore and seemed like they had better things to do. The blond lady who was supposed to get them fresh water sat in a chair looking at her phone. Barry didn’t know what she was looking at, but thought it must’ve been important if she was looking at that instead of doing the job she was required to do. He also didn’t really care because he didn’t like her anyway. Someone always came to change the water anyway.

A couple days ago rumors started about someone new that was supposed to start working at the shelter on Monday. Today just so happened to be Monday, so he would see if it was true. During Barry’s entire time here, he hasn’t seen a single new person working at the shelter. He's seen people leave, but he never saw any new people. He was kind of excited, and he rarely got excited about anything anymore. He didn’t want to get his hopes up but he just couldn’t help it, his curious nature got the best of him. 

As Barry was about to tell his cage neighbor to shut the hell up for once, in walked a blond-haired girl who looked too bubbly and nice to belong. He watched as she walked up to Daryl, the prick who was in charge. Barry couldn’t understand it. ‘If Daryl didn’t like animals so much then why did he choose to work at a shelter?’ He thought. He looked back over to the new girl. She shook Daryl’s hand and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Claire. I’m supposed to start working here today as a volunteer.” “Hey. You were already given a rundown and shown what you’ll be doing so I’m not going to waste my time re-explaining and leave you to it.” Daryl then just quite literally left her to it. “Ok.” She said as he left. 

She picked up a clipboard and started making her way around the room. Stopping at every cage wanting to meet the occupant inside. She finally made her way to Barry and stopped. She picked his sheets up to read them. “Nice to meet you Barry.” “Nice to meet you too.” He meowed. “Aww. You seem like such a nice kitty. Why haven’t you been adopted yet?” “I don’t know.” He honestly didn’t know. He's pretty sure he’s been doing everything right. So why didn’t anybody want him? He got disheartened at the thought and lowered his head. “It says here that you’ve been here for three months. Oh, that’s so sad.” ‘Why’s she being so nice to me? None of the others are nice. It has to be fake. She's probably doing this to gain my trust. She'll show her real personality after she’s been here for a bit.’ He thought bitterly. He looked up when she started talking again. “Well Barry, I’m Claire. Let's get along and be good friends. Ok?” Barry knew she must’ve been lying, but the look in her light blue eyes spoke nothing but truth. His eyes welled up as he replied shakily. “Ok.” “I’m glad. I'll be here every day to see you.” And with that she moved onto the next animal.

True to her word, Claire visited and talked to Barry every day. Admittedly it had only been a couple of days, but it still meant the world to Barry. His old personality was coming back and he was more energetic and happier like when he first arrived. His cage neighbors weren’t the only ones that took notice. On Claire’s fourth day Daryl walked up to her and let her know. “You know he’s changed because of you right?” Claire looked up from her clipboard. “What do you mean?” “Barry. Before you showed up, he wasn’t very happy and just laid around. But since you’ve been talking to him since you started, he’s perked up.” “Oh. I didn’t know what he was like before so I just assumed he was just friendly.” “Nah. He’s not like that with anybody else. You're the only one.” 

Barry had started listening ever since he heard Claire start talking. ‘Obviously I don’t act like this with anybody else you ass. Nobody cares about spending time with me or talking to me like Claire does.’ Just then Claire looked at him and they made eye contact. That day Claire put in the paperwork to adopt Barry. Since nobody wanted Barry, the paperwork went through pretty fast. Within two days she was able to finalize the adoption and take Barry home. 

When Claire walked into the room Barry knew something was different. Claire was walking fast and seemed even happier than she usually was, and that’s saying something. She was also holding a box. A box he recognized! Barry saw people bring that box in before. That's the box they take animals away in. He immediately perked up. When she finally reached his cage she started talking. “Hi Barry. Today's a special day. You're finally getting out of here and coming home with me.” Barry startled at that. ‘Coming home with you? That means...’ “You’re adopting me?” He meowed excitedly but still shocked. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” With that she opened up his cage and picked him up. Barry, still in shock, went with the flow. “Sorry about this but it’s required. Good news is: I already paid for you so we can leave faster.” And with that she put him in the box.

When she set the box down in the passenger seat, she immediately opened the top. Barry poked his head out and started to look around. His eyes finally landed on Claire. She proceeded to pet his head then started the engine. “Let’s go home, shall we?” At this Barry’s trance was broken. ‘Home? I’m going to have a home?’ His eyes started watering. “Yeah. Let's go home.” The ride wasn’t super long, but it was long enough to talk to Barry and let him know a few things. “I have another cat that you’ll meet once we get home. His name’s Avery. I’ve had him ever since he was a kitten. So, it’s been about, oh I’d say four years now. Wow. It's been that long? Time flies. I hope you two can get along.” Even though Claire knew Barry couldn’t understand her she continued talking, feeling comfortable and happy in his presence.

[Present time]

Contrary to what Claire thought would happen, Barry and Avery’s first meeting was not good. When Avery first saw him, he did not like the idea of sharing his territory with another cat and promptly went after Barry. And at the time Barry thought, ‘For a chunky cat he can sure move.’ Looking at Avery now while he’s waiting for Claire, Barry realized how things between them have gotten better and mellowed out quite a bit. Don’t get him wrong, Barry knows they aren’t best friends or anything. Avery still swats him on the back of the head every once in a while when Barry walks by. He knows it’s not because Avery hates him. Barry thinks he’s just jealous of him. He's gone four years of getting the entirety of Claire’s attention, now there’s a new cat in his house that he has to share Claire’s attention with. He'd be jealous too. Barry actually thinks the whole thing is endearing. 

When Barry first saw Avery, he thought he was a calico British shorthair. In reality, Barry has no clue if that’s what Avery is. He doesn’t even know if he’s seen a British shorthair before, and if he has, he had no clue at the time. If he is right, it’ll be a hell of a guess though. He's lived here for two months now. During that time, he’s been able to meet a few other cats in the neighborhood as well as a few dogs. They all seemed like decent animals, but he’s only been here a few months so he wouldn’t really know yet.

He heard footsteps approach behind him. When he turned to look he saw that it was Claire. She bent down and started petting him. “Aww. Hi Barry baby. How are you?” “Good.” He purred “You want to go outside now?” He leaned into her touch. “Yes.” He meowed dazed. “Alright. Just be careful.” She unlocked and opened the door for him. He has a cat door for this very reason, so he can go outside whenever he wants and doesn’t have to wait for someone to come and let him out. He just doesn’t use it because he likes all the attention Claire gives him before he lives, and she knows it. “I’ll be careful. I always am.” And with that he left to go on his daily adventure. 

His walk through the neighborhood would take Barry by Grimm’s place, so he decided he would make a pit stop to see how the older cat was doing. The neighborhood was quiet that day. ‘Thank God.’ Barry thought. Whenever the neighborhood kids were outside and saw him, they would always try to pet him and pick him up. Don't get him wrong, Barry is a sociable cat. He just doesn’t like it when all the kids try to touch him at once. He's not claustrophobic, but it does make him a little uneasy. 

While he was thinking Barry managed to get to Grimm’s house in no time. Making his way to the backyard, Barry was able to find Grimm on the porch with his usual visitor Bones. Both of them were older than Barry. Grimm being three years old and Bones being four. Bones and Grimm were actually best friends. He visited Grimm everyday so then they could talk and hang out. 

Upon getting a glimpse of fur Barry could tell where they were sitting, lying in Grimm’s case. He could easily tell because of the stark contrast in their fur color. Grimm had short, black fur while Bones had mostly light-colored fur due to his Siamese heritage. When Barry first met them, he was surprised to find out they were best friends. This was because Grimm wasn’t all that social and preferred to stay inside, while Bones was this intelligent, professional type cat who he just didn’t see hanging around Grimm’s type at all. But seeing them on the porch conversing so easily like they had known each other for forever just made him realize that friendship comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. It also makes him think of the old adage: Opposites attract. What surprised Barry even more was that Bones’ owners got him a bunch of buttons so he could communicate with them. Barry would’ve loved to try that with Claire, but Avery would probably get annoyed by it or try to take it over.

“Hi Grimm. Hi Bones.” He said as he got settled on the railing next to Bones. Grimm gave a short greeting back while Bones tried to initiate a conversation. “Hi Barry. Off to go exploring again?” “Yeah. There's this one tree just on the inside of the woods that has a great vantage point to see into this nest of robins. I'm going back there today to see if any of them have learned to fly yet!” Barry said excitedly. “Good for you.” Bones said with a faint smile on his face. Grimm decided to join the conversation at that point. “Don’t stay out too long. I heard Jack talking about going on another adventure tonight. You don’t want to be too tired. Otherwise, you won’t be able to go. 

Barry’s eyes shot open with excitement. “You’re right! I won’t be too long! That way I can get some rest before following Jack and Eren tonight!” Grimm and Bones had to smile at this. The kid was an orange ball of energy. Curious about everything and anything. Never causing any harm because he just wants to explore and learn about the world. They had to admit, the kid had grown on them during his short stay with Claire. She sure knew how to pick em. That was for sure. 

“Well, I should get going if I want to have enough time to watch the birds and be back in time to get some rest. Bye!” And with that Barry was darting off the porch back into the neighborhood barely catching their goodbyes. With no more stops to make it was straight to the woods. Being in silence again Barry was left with his thoughts. He liked it when the neighborhood was quiet. The peace and quiet prepared him for the tranquility he would get when he reached the woods.

He was coming up on Winchester and Shadow. Two massive five-year-old German shepherds. They were brothers, the only way you could tell them apart was by their collars. Winchester's was blue while Shadow’s was red. They were a part of Eren’s family. When Barry first started living with Claire, Bones told him about every pet in the neighborhood. He told him that Winchester and Shadow were good dogs and they wouldn’t do anything to him. But that didn’t change the fact that he was still intimidated by them. And who in their right minds wouldn’t? They were trained guard dogs. Trained to protect sure, but also to incapacitate. He learned that word and what it meant from Bones. The fact that these dogs could throw him around like a ragdoll made him wary. It also didn’t help that they just lied in the front yard every time he walked by. They did that every day because they’re guarding the house. It still creeped him out though. 

‘Oh shit!’ He thought. He was about to walk right by their house. “Hey Winchester. Hey Shadow.” He greeted as he walked by. They grunted in response. ‘Good talk.’ He relaxed when he was past their house. He just hopes he wasn’t making a face when he was thinking about what Bones told him about them. The last thing he needs is two trained guard dogs not liking him. And even if he was intimidated now, he hoped that later on he could get past that and be friends with them. He had never really been friends with a dog and he was curious what it would be like.

He finally made it out of the neighborhood and to the front of the woods. His objective was simple: find the tree he was at before and watch the nest of robins for a little bit before he had to go back home. “Piece of cake.” And with that he bounded off into the woods. 

So... Barry will be the first to admit that it took him a little longer than he expected to find the tree he was at a few days earlier. He was a bit of a time crunch but it was ok. He was here now, perched in his spot in the tree. The view of the robin’s nest was great. He could see all three of the babies sitting in the nest waiting for their mother to come back with food. Ever since Barry found the nest, he would come back every few days, when he wasn’t exploring a different part of the woods, just to see this robin family. He wanted to watch over them and see them grow. He had been lucky enough to find the nest while they were still in eggs. From that first day, watching the mother take care of her eggs, Barry knew he was attached. He also knew that when they got big enough that he’d have to let them go. They'd have to learn how to fly and then they’d be able to leave the nest and start their own lives. The thought made him sad, but he got excited again at the thought of seeing them take flight. 

Barry sat in the tree for about an hour. The silence brings him peace and watching the robins brings him happiness. Barry knew it was time to leave when the mother came back with food. The babies would be safe with their mother, and it was about time he headed home anyways. When he got home, he walked by Avery, who welcomed him home with a swat to the back of the head. “Good to see you too Avery.” He jumped up onto the couch and lied down. Closing his eyes, he hoped he could get a good amount of sleep without any interruptions.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting on the couch was a seventeen-year-old with brown hair and brown eyes watching videos on his phone. Jack Auber was waiting a little bit for it to get dark before he went to go get Eren to go exploring. He had the perfect idea for where to go exploring this time. There was an abandoned building in the woods that he and Eren had never explored before. ‘Unexplored territory.’ He thought. 

Jack had always been adventurous like this. That coupled with confidence led him to exploring the woods and old places when he was younger. At first, he went by himself, but then he started dragging his best friend Eren along on his adventures. He uses the word drag because unlike him, Eren is an introvert. He likes to sleep and play videogames. At first, he didn’t like the idea of exploring all these creepy places, especially at night. But Jack was eventually able to convince him to go. Now whenever they go exploring, he’s still hesitant to go, but he goes anyways because he knows that Jack won’t let anything happen to him. Hopefully.

Jack may be confident and outgoing, but that didn’t mean he had a lot of friends. He actually only had a small group of friends: his best friend and childhood buddy Eren Valentine, and more recently Claire Labree and Anna O’hare. Claire and Anna didn’t really like exploring that much, so they only went once in a while. Jack thought they were pretty cool. Even if all of them weren’t really popular. He liked their personalities. Claire's nice, bubbly personality collided great with Anna’s tomboyish, badass personality. And he says badass because Anna doesn’t take shit from anybody. She also has a pipe that she brings with her when she does join them in exploring. 

He did text Claire and Anna a little bit ago to see if they wanted to join him and Eren in exploring the abandoned building, but they declined and said they were going to have a girls’ night in. Whatever that entailed. He just knew it was going to be him and Eren exploring this abandoned building. Now all he had to do was tell Eren.

He opened the facetime app on his phone and clicked on Eren’s name. On the third ring a sixteen-year-old boy with messy brown hair and blue eyes picked up. “What do you want Jack? I’m in the middle of a game.” “Good to see you too. I can see you’re still dressed in your pajamas.” “What do you expect? It’s Saturday. You know I don’t do anything on the weekends except play videogames and sleep.” That was true, Jack did know that. “But those aren’t the only things you do. You go exploring with me.” Jack said with a big smile on his face. Eren paused the game and looked at the camera for the first time since the conversation started. 

“No.” He said flatly. “Oh, come on. I have the perfect idea on where we can go.” “No. This is my weekend and I am not going to let you drag me with you to go explore creepy places at night. Maybe next week.” He unpaused his game. “Please.” Jack begged. “Claire and Anna aren’t going and it’s more fun if you come with me.” Eren paused the game again and sighed. He never had much willpower when it came to Jack. “Fine. Come over when you want to leave. Door's unlocked like always. I gotta go. I have to make sure Winchester and Shadow are in the house before I lock the dog flap.” And with that he ended the call. “Yes!” Jack said as he pumped his fist in the air. He pet Grimm who was lying next to him on the couch. “Hear that Grimm? I'm going exploring again tonight.” “Good for you.” He meowed. ‘Have fun outside in the dark while I’m nice and cozy inside.’


	3. Chapter 3

Barry woke up to the sensation of being pet. He opened his eyes and saw Claire. “Hi Barry. Did you sleep well?” “Yes.” He answered as he stretched. “Good. So, Anne’s coming over for the night. Jack wanted us to go with him but we wanted to relax this weekend.” Avery perked up at the news of Anne. Avery gets jealous of Barry for getting a lot of Claire’s attention. He's the new cat so she pays more attention to him. When Anna comes over, she gives her attention to Avery, and he loves her for that. 

Hearing the door open they all look up to see Anna with a book bag slung over shoulder. Avery immediately made his way over to her. “Oh, it’s good to see you again Avery.” She said in a soft voice as she picked him up and walked over to the couch. “You’re getting heavy. Aren't you?” She sat on the couch just as Avery started playing with her brown hair. Her hazel eyes twinkled with amusement. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?” The seventeen-year-old asked. Claire stopped petting Barry and turned towards Anna. “Well, I was thinking we could make some popcorn and watch some movies.” “Sounds like a plan.” This was Barry’s cue to leave. Claire knew Barry liked to go out most nights so she left the cat flap unlocked. He slipped out into the night and started making his way over to Jack’s place to see when he would leave so then he could follow.

Jack was lying on the couch with Grimm on his stomach. He was waiting a tiny bit longer before he went to go get Eren. They usually leave to go exploring around 10:00pm. This is because it’ll be late enough when they leave, but not too late where they got home real early in the morning. He checked his phone and saw that it was 10:00pm. “Alright. Sorry bud, you gotta move.” He said as he was maneuvering Grimm off his stomach. “Yeah yeah. I'm moving. Give me a sec.” Jack grabbed his phone and a jacket. “I’m going now. Love ya bud. Don't wait up for me.” “Never do.” And with that he left for Eren’s house. 

As Eren said, the door was unlocked like usual. He went upstairs to Eren’s room. “Hey.” He said as he walked in. Eren was sitting in his chair, headphones on and playing a game. “Hey.” He said again. This time tapping his shoulder. “Oh hey. You’re here.” “Yep. Come on. Get ready, it’s time to go.” “Ok ok. Just let me put on a jacket.” They went downstairs and left the house, now on their way to the woods. Unknowingly being followed by an orange furball.

Barry kept a steady pace a good ways away from Jack and Eren. He didn’t want to be spotted. He liked it better that way. He didn’t know where they were going, and it looked like Eren also didn’t know. Barry had never followed this path into the woods before. He hadn’t had the chance to explore it until now. Jack was leading with his phone light while he and Eren followed. Jack finally stopped when they reached this open area. There was this big building in the middle of the clearing. Barry had to admit, it looked pretty creepy in the dark.

Jack and Eren decided to go through the side entrance instead of the big sliding door. They didn’t want to make a lot of noise after all. It was a little hard to get the side door open, it seemed stuck. After a few tries they were able to force it open. Jack shined his light around. The place was huge. Apparently, the building was used as a factory for making nuts, bolts, screws, parts like that. It was really dark, so it was only when they were almost to the other side of the room did they see a door leading to another room. 

Jack was the first to go through and shined his light around. From where they were, they could see the sliding door they saw from the outside. The sliding door was to their left, a door to another room was to their right, and in front of them there was a table. Eren went up to the table and saw tools. He turned to Jack. “Look at this. It's weird. These types of tools aren’t supposed to be in a building like this.” Jack shined his light over the tools. “Yeah, you’re right. Those definitely aren’t supposed to be here. They look like they belong in a butcher shop.” Just then they heard a loud bang come from the rom off to their right. They both jumped in shock. “Time to go!” Jack said as he grabbed Eren and started running back the way they came and outside into the woods. They were done for the night.

Barry had followed them into the building, but he ended up staying in the first room. The next thing he knows, there’s a loud bang and Jack and Eren are running past him, and all of a sudden he’s running too. Out into the woods, trying to make his way back home. He could see in the dark sure, but he was spooked and running on adrenaline and he just wanted to be out of the woods and be home. 

In his frantic running he wasn’t looking where he was going and ended up tripping over something. He stood up, and that’s when the smell hit him. “What the hell?” He looked down to see what he tripped over and what smelled so bad. “Oh God!” He started running again. ‘I wish I didn’t look! I wish I didn’t look!’ Thoughts flitted through his head a mile a minute. He raced back home so he could tell Avery what he found, what he tripped over, what he smelled. He had to tell the others. The others had to know about this. ‘This is bad. Really really bad.’ Barry had tripped over a dead cat that had been all cut up.

When Jack and Eren got back they went to Eren’s house. They were up in his room trying to calm down. “That was scary.” Eren started. “Yeah, that was.” “Should we report the tools and noise we heard?” “Uh, no, I don’t think so. The noise could’ve been anything, and the tools, well... people leave weird things in buildings all the time. Nothing to worry about.” “Yeah, I guess.” “Yeah. Well, I’m gonna head home.” “Alright. See ya.” And with that, Jack left to go back home.

Barry came barging through the cat door like a bullet, waking Avery up who was sleeping on the couch. He sat up and jumped off the couch and faced Barry, who was still panting. “What the hell’s wrong with you? People are sleeping.” He said angrily. “I-I-I saw...” “You saw what? Spit it out!” “I saw a body?” “What?” Avery looked shocked. “I saw a cat body. Out in the woods. There was this loud bang, and I got spooked, so I started running and tripped over it!” “Oh God.” “We have to tell Grimm. He might know what to do.” “Not right now.” “Why not?” “Because, by now everyone’s sleeping. You can tell him in the morning. I’ll go with you.” Barry looked to be calming down. “Ok. Alright. In the morning.” “Now, let’s get some sleep. You look like you could use it.” They both jumped on the couch and settled in for the night. Thoughts of what they’d have to talk about in the morning going through their minds. “Avery?” “Yeah?” “Thank you.” “No problem Barry. Get some sleep.”


	4. Chapter 4

Bones was on Grimm’s porch, talking to him like he does every day when he saw Barry and Avery approach. Barry looked rattled and Avery didn’t look much better. “Hey guys. What's going on?” “Oh. Hi Bones. I guess it’s good you’re here also.” Avery started. He looked at Barry expectantly. “I was running in the woods last night and I tripped over a cat body.” He said in a rush. 

“What?” Grimm was shocked to say the least, but Bones wanted answers. “What do you mean you tripped over a cat body in the woods Barry?” “What I mean, is that I tripped over a dead cat in the woods. The body was all cut up. I didn’t get a good look, but I think its eyes were missing.” Bones and Grimm were even more shocked at this revelation. Bones looked up. “If what Barry says is true, then we can’t waste any time. We have to investigate. Barry, do you remember where the body is?” “I’m not sure. I mean I think so.” “Alright. Here's what’s going to happen: I’m going to get the rest of the neighborhood animals and we’re all going to meet in front of Winchester and Shadow’s place in five minutes. Then Barry, you’re going to take us to the body.” 

The others didn’t have anybody else they had to get. Bones went home to get Ruby, a small Jack Russell Terrier who’s three years old. Once Bones got inside, he immediately found her and told her what was going on. She was shocked, but went to the meeting place without asking too many questions. Bones didn’t go with her, he still had one more animal to get.

Bones had looked in two backyards before he finally found Misty. She was a three-year-old stray that got her name from her grey tabby fur. “Hello Misty.” “Bones.” “There’s been a situation.” “What kind of situation?” “Barry found a dead cat in the woods. Looks like it’s been cut up.” “And you thought, because I’m a stray, I might know what happened.” “That’s what I was hoping.” “Ok. Why not? Let’s go.” And with that, they went to join the others. 

By the time they got there, everyone was assembled, and it looked like Grimm and Avery were filling Winchester and Shadow in on the situation. “You didn’t say it’d be a damn party here.” Bones turned to Misty. “An animal killed like that is a concern for the whole neighborhood. The group deserved to be informed.” “Whatever. So, the kid found the body?” “Unfortunately.” “Well, what are we waiting for? Lead the way carrot top.” 

They were following Barry for a good twenty minutes or so before he stopped. “What is it?” Bones asked. “This is where the body was last night. Now it’s not here.” Misty didn’t look too convinced. “You sure you saw a body Junior? It was dark, coulda been a stick.” “No. I know what I saw.” Bones stepped forward. “Maybe she’s onto something Barry.” Avery jumped in then. “I think they’re right Barry. Last night you were so frantic and hopped up on adrenaline, your mind could’ve played tricks on you.” “That’s not what happened! How can you not believe me?” Winchester came closer. “There’s no evidence of a body being here. You're young, have a hyperactive mind, and last night you were spooked. All those things put together can trick your mind.” “That’s not it! I know what I saw. And if you guys don’t believe me, fine!” Barry stormed off back in the direction of the neighborhood. The others soon followed.


	5. Chapter 5

Even though they were all convinced Barry didn’t see a body, they decided to stay in for the day. It ended up being a very uneventful day. Their humans decided it would be a lazy Sunday as well. Nobody was in the mood to go anywhere. Monday was when things started happening. 

Bones was laying on the couch watching the news Anna’s dad left on. It was all boring, stuff on the weather and some politics, but then... “In other news. Local pets have gone missing in large numbers. Some have been found killed gruesomely. Officials don’t know what to make of it and are looking for the person or persons responsible.” This got Bones thinking. Maybe Barry did trip over a body, but then the killer must’ve moved it sometime later that night or in the morning. That's why they didn’t find it. With this new revelation in mind, Bones went to go see Grimm to talk to him about what was going on. 

Barry still couldn’t believe it. How could they not believe him? He knows what he saw. It wasn’t a stick, or a figment of his imagination, or something like that. He saw a body. He's been pacing back and forth in the same place for a couple minutes now, and it was starting to get to Avery. “Will you stop? You’re going to wear a hole into the carpet.” Barry paused. “And it’s annoying.” He added. “Well, what do you want me to do? None of you believe me!” 

Avery sighed and got off the couch. “Barry. I saw you that night. You were frantic and coming down from an adrenaline rush. You probably got spooked by something, and all those chemicals rushing to your head didn’t help anything.” “Is that what you believe?” “Yes. I know you got spooked. By what, I don’t know. But your mind couldn’t make sense of things and that’s why you thought you saw a body.” “Nobody believes me. But I know what I saw, and I’m going to go prove it.” determined, Barry ran out the cat flap and in the direction of the woods, leaving Avery in the living room. “For your sake Barry, I hope you don’t find anything.”

‘I have to go to where I found the body. From there I can widen my search. I will find something that I can use to prove to the others that what I saw was real.’ Barry thought. He knew he was getting close when he recognized the area he was in from when he led the group there. When he finally reached the spot where the body was, he stopped to take a breath. It was getting dark, and after his last encounter, he wasn’t too keen on staying here very late. He expanded his search more to the right of where the body was. When he didn’t find anything, he expanded his search more in the direction of the abandoned building. He came across a small clearing that wasn’t all that big. It looked like someone had cleared out a few bushes. But what he saw made him stop. 

There was a guy in the clearing. He was doing something with an object that was on the ground. Barry moved closer to get a better look. As he got closer, he was able to see what the guy was messing with. ‘It’s a dead cat.’ _Snap._ The guy looked up as Barry looked down. ‘Shit!’ He stepped on a stick. He looked up to see the guy running towards him. 

Barry was frozen in place. The fear from getting caught and the shock of seeing another body keeping him in place. ‘I should’ve moved.’ He thought as the assailant’s boot connected with his ribs. The force was hard enough that Barry felt some of his ribs break. He had to get up. He landed a few feet away from the guy. With Barry’s fight or flight response activated and adrenaline pumping through his body, Barry was able to get up and start running in the direction of the neighborhood. The adrenaline was doing its job at keeping the pain away long enough for Barry to lose the guy and get back to his house. 

Barry stumbled inside, scraped up all to hell. He immediately caught Avery’s attention. “Oh my God! Barry! What happened?” The adrenaline was wearing off and he was starting to feel the pain and tiredness. “Guy, attacked me...” He didn’t say anymore as he collapsed to the ground unconscious. “Barry? Barry! You need to wake up!” Avery started nudging him. When Barry didn’t wake up he started yowling. Claire walked around the corner just then. “Avery, what are you being so loud for?” Then she saw Barry. “Oh my God! Barry! What happened? Oh God! This is bad!” She grabbed her keys and carefully picked Barry up to take him to her car. “Don’t die Barry. Avery stay here.” And with that, she was gone. Taking Barry to the vet to get fixed up. Avery had to tell Bones. 

At this time of night Bones would be at home. Avery arrived at Bones’ place and scratched on the cat flap. A minute later Bones stepped out onto the porch. “Do you know what time it is Avery?” “Barry’s been hurt!” He blurted out. “What? Barry’s been hurt? When?” “Just a little bit ago. Claire took him to the vet.” “do you know what happened?” “Before he passed out, Barry said a guy attacked him.” “Do we know why?” “I don’t know. Before he left, he said he was going to go prove what he saw.” “So, Barry went into the woods and happened to come across the guy that’s been killing animals around the neighborhood.” “What?” “I saw a news report. I think Barry actually saw a body.” “What are we going to do?” “For now, I think it’s best if we get some sleep. I'll gather the others tomorrow and when Barry gets back you can talk to him about what happened.” “Ok.”


	6. Chapter 6

Claire came home with Barry in the morning. The vet wanted to keep him for the rest of the night to make sure he was ok, and Claire didn’t want to leave him. When she walked in, Avery immediately got up and went over to check on Barry. He had bandages wrapped around his midsection and he was out like a light. “Just wait till I set him down Avery, then you can check on him.” She gently set him on the couch then. “The vet said he has some broken and cracked ribs, but other than that he should be fine. She gave him some drugs for the ride home. They'll keep him out for a few more hours.” She left to go into the kitchen. 

Avery jumped onto the couch as carefully as he could and made his way over to Barry. “God. What were you thinking Barry? You could’ve been killed.” He sighed then and lied down next to Barry. “You just rest up now. We gotta talk when you wake up though. And you’re gonna need your energy for that.” Avery fell asleep next to Barry, hoping that he’d wake up soon.

Bones was able to gather everyone at Grimm’s place. They were all awaiting news on Barry’s condition. Until then, it gave them plenty of time to talk. Bones went first. “I think Barry actually saw a body. When we didn’t believe him, he went back into the woods to prove what he saw was real. Based on what Barry was able to tell Avery, we think the guy Barry found in the woods may be the killer.” Misty interjected. “So, turns out the kid was right.” “It would appear so.” Grimm was next to speak. “What’s the plan then?” “We’ll come up with that when Avery gets done speaking with Barry.”

Talking to Barry had been painful. To ask him questions and have him recount what happened was worse. “I need to go talk to the others. Bones is gonna come up with a plan.” Avery was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to leave you alone.” Barry smiled at this. “Don’t worry about it. I'll be fine here on my own. Besides, the others need you more than I do right now anyways.” “Alright. I’ll go. Just make sure to rest.” 

When Avery arrived, they were finally able to know how Barry was doing. “Some of his ribs are broken and cracked, but he’s doing better than he was last night.” “Poor Barry.” Ruby said. Bones stepped up then. “What happened to Barry is unfortunate, but we’ll have time later to worry about him. Right now we need to make a plan. Avery, did Barry say where he found the guy?” “Yeah. Um, it was a little bit in front of where he saw the body the first time. In a little clearing.” “Alright. The plan is we go there and stake out the area until the guy shows up again. Then we’ll follow him back to his hideout so then we can let our humans know where he is.”


	7. Chapter 7

They had been waiting in the bushes for a while now. They were about to head back because it was late when they heard some rustling. They looked in the direction of the noise and saw a guy around the same age as their owners carrying a large duffel bag. They followed him down a path for a little bit until they reached a clearing. There was an abandoned building that the guy went into through a sliding door. They knew where the killer was hiding. They had to go let their humans know. 

It was decided that Bones would tell Anna because he was the only one who could actually communicate. They all waited outside while Bones went to tell Anna. He stopped when he saw her sitting on the couch watching the news. Then, what was being said reached his ears. “This just in. A ten-year-old boy has been kidnapped. Jacob Holmes was taken from Wells Street about half an hour ago. His parents say they have no idea who would want to take their son. The police have no leads as of now and are urging the public to call the number below if they have any information.” 

Bones meowed to get Anna’s attention. “What Bones?” He walked over to his buttons. “What is it?” They had so many buttons Bones hoped he’d be able to tell her clearly. He started pressing buttons. “Saw” “Bad” “Man” “Hurt” “Animals” “Follow” “Me”. Anna listened to the different voices of her family say these words, then it hit her. “Are you saying you know where the bad man is?” He pushed a button. “Yes” “The same one who took the boy?” “Yes” “Are you sure?” He looked at her and pushed the button. “Yes” “Ok. Let me get the others.” She sent a text to the group chat telling them to meet her in front of her house. 

All three of them showed up at about the same time. Jack was the first to speak. “Hey. What's going on?” “And why are our pets here?” Eren asked. “This is gonna sound weird, but I promise it’s the truth. Bones used his buttons to tell me he knows where the dude who’s been killing animals is, and that it’s the same guy that kidnapped Jacob Holmes. He wants us to follow him.” “Are you sure about this Anna?” Claire asked skeptically. “I know he’s a smart cat, but this smart?” “I know how this sounds, but I’m telling the truth. You guys have to trust me on this.” “Alright. We trust you. Lead the way Bones.” And with that, both groups of animals and humans were off towards the woods. 

As they were running, they got closer and closer to their destination. Upon seeing the familiar scenery, Jack and Eren knew where they were. They stopped running. “Why’d you guys stop?” Claire asked. “We know where we’re going.” Jack answered. “I’m calling the cops so they know where to go.” It took a minute or so for Jack to relay all the information. After the operator told him the police were on their way he hung up.


	8. Chapter 8

They were now sitting on the outskirts of the building. They stayed hidden so they could look for the killer without being seen. Eren was the first to break the silence. “I don’t see him. Do you?” “No.” Jack replied. “We should go in. We've spent enough time out here.” “Jack, are you insane?” Anna asked. “The cops aren’t here yet, and every second we waste out here is another second that kid is in there with a lunatic.” He explained. “Ok. We’ll go in.” 

They all crept up to the sliding door. Jack mouthed the words “On three” and held up his fingers. On three he slid the door open. The first thing they noticed was the blood, just dripping down the small hand and into a puddle forming on the floor. The drip drip drip of it. “Oh God.” Anna brought her hands to her mouth. The kid didn’t have any eyes. Just then, the door to their right opened with a bang. In walked the killer with a bloody apron on and knife in hand. 

They all were frozen in shock, only moving when the killer lunged at them, forcing them to scatter. One thought forced itself to the front of Jack’s brain. ‘I have to protect my friends.’ He was able to catch the killer of guard by tackling him to the ground. They were grappling on the ground, the killer managing to keep his grip on the knife. Eren went to help Jack hold him down. As he got his hands on the killer, he lashed out, surprising Jack and managing to slice Eren over the chest. Winchester and Shadow jumped in, biting both of the killer’s arms and forcing him to drop the knife. Claire then ran over to kick the knife away so it could no longer be used. 

The struggle continued for a few more seconds until they heard sirens and saw the glow of the cruiser lights. The cops ran in and took over holding the killer down. After a couple more minutes of struggling they managed to put him in cuffs and started walking him to a cruiser. 

Everybody gave their statements about what happened. Eren was the only one who had to be checked out by a paramedic. The cut was shallow enough where he could go home after giving his statement. Their parents showed up not long after that and were told they could take them home. Everything was over. Or at least it was supposed to be.

They were all left traumatized at what they had seen and dealt with. All of them felt guilty for not being able to save the boy in time. They knew it wasn’t their fault. They all knew that. They all just couldn’t help but think, if they had gotten there sooner, would things be different? Jack and Eren felt the guiltiest out of all of them. They felt they could’ve prevented this. If they had reported the tools they found instead of just leaving it alone, maybe Jacob Holmes would still be alive. Guilt has a way of eating people alive from the inside out. After all, that’s its specialty.


End file.
